question Headgear

[Minesweeper]

When I was in the Army 50 years ago, it was always correct to have the cap badge in your beret over your left eye. Nowadays, most soldiers seem to wear their cap badges over their left ears - like a lot of French matelots. Why the change?

 

Tony

[AlienFTM]

If you aren't cavalry / RTR who usually (excluding the tanky in the current picture thread) employ the two-way stretch, wearing the badge over the back of the eye socket (which brings it much closer to the ear whilst still technically actually being over the eye) makes them look more warry (or "ally" in latter-day mil-speak), like a para or a marine. Even REMF (PONTI in latter-day mil-speak) squaddies can be walts.

 

Because armoured vehicle crews always wore a headset whilst mounted (prior to Scorpion and that awful bonedome), over a beret it was quickly realised that a two-way stretch, pulling the beret down on both sides with the badge over the nose, made wearing a headset over a beret more comfortable. The "tanky beret" as the two-way stretch was also known, was as much cursed by SSMs as is wearing the badge over the ear.

 

Truth be told. I never personally got on with two-way stretch because it didn't sit as well on the head without a headset and it tended to fly off. So I tended to the other extreme, wearing the badge well over the left eye. After all, being recce there was no accusing me of being a walt.

 

It's all a question of governemnts telling squaddies to be uniform and squaddies pushing back. It's amazing how two blokes can wear the same kit so differently.

 

Entirely off-topic but it just flashed by, read a couple of days ago.

 

SSM bollicking a Sapper on parade. "Sapper Snooks your sideboards are far too long. Who do you think you are? Elvis?"

 

"Uh-huh-huh."

Edited October 7, 2010 by AlienFTM
Moved a closing bracket which made a nonsense of the sentence. Edited again for idiot use of completely the wrong word.

[mash]

As craftys and lcpls etc its all about who can get away with what, its a game against the snco's, cap badges creep round side'es creep down slowly, hair grows over the limit etc, just are way of lifting moral and getting one up on them.

 

I asume as more and more people moved their cap badges around it took over as the norm and was deemed acceptable to have it that little further round, how ever some people do still like you to wear it over the left eye, just depends on your unit as some are a little more senstive to your dress than others.